Market Watch |

2024 investment lookahead: UK vs US, bond yields compelling and gold on a roll

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – 2024 is not going to be a year of rapid or sustained economic growth. Market consensus in recent weeks seems to have shrugged off recession fears and is pricing in a Goldilocks scenario, where central bankers cut interest rates but not because they are forced too by an economic hard landing. We aren’t quite as optimistic. Countries and corporates that have loaded up on debt in an era of…

Bank of England puts the brakes on: Investments, Savings, Annuities and Mortgages

Posted on by The Editorial Team

The Bank of England has finally put the brakes on the relentless rate hiking cycle. A rise had been heavily pencilled in but was wiped off the board by the surprise fall in inflation. Even before the announcement, the markets reacted, with implications for savers, mortgage borrowers and anyone considering an annuity. As the market digested the news that inflation had come down, it decided a rate rise wasn’t so likely after all. As a…

Central Banks need Weird Barbies By Charles White Thomson, CEO, Saxo UK

Posted on by The Editorial Team

In this commentary, Charles White Thomson, CEO at Saxo UK, explains how he wants institutions like the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee to have their own Weird Barbies so that we can break the cycle of groupthink. Inspiration comes in strange places and as I sat watching Barbie, the charismatic Weird Barbie struck a chord with me. She reflects an antidote to group think, lethargy and the popular dumbing down at the institutional and…

Investment ideas for Earth Day and Beyond

Posted on by The Editorial Team

By Dominic Rowles, Lead ESG analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown Every year, on April 22nd, people around the world celebrate Earth Day. It’s a way to mark the achievements of the environmental movement and highlight the work that still needs to be done to preserve the planet for future generations. Environmental issues such as climate change, deforestation, water scarcity, pollution, and biodiversity loss are threatening the health and well-being of our planet, its ecosystems, and its inhabitants….

Africa: When a big government can’t borrow from abroad

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa): Losing access to foreign capital markets is tough, especially for a statist government with a number of fingers in a number of economic pies. Ethiopia has had to lean on its underdeveloped domestic financial sector to keep the machinery of state going, and it is now dealing with the second-round effects of this approach: strong domestic money growth is amplifying the liquidity imbalance between hard currency and birr supply. Staying…

S&P Bulletin: Senegal’s Parliamentary Election Results Could Slow Reform Momentum

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DAKAR (Capital Markets in Africa) – S&P Global Ratings anticipates that the Senegalese president, Macky Sall, may find it more difficult to implement his reform agenda following the parliamentary elections on Aug. 7, 2022. Preliminary results indicate that, for the first time since Senegal gained its independence in 1960, the incumbent president’s coalition has lost its parliamentary majority. Of the 165 seats in the Senegalese parliament, the president’s coalition Beno Bokk Yakaar (United in Hope),…

Bitcoin Tumbles Below $40,000 to Lowest Level in Five Months

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Cryptocurrencies sank Friday, taking Bitcoin to the lowest level in more than five months as risk aversion again swept across global markets. The largest cryptocurrency dropped as much as 7.4% to $38,261, while second-ranked Ether slid below $3,000. Digital tokens overall have shed some $1 trillion in value since a November peak, according to CoinMarketCap data. “Bitcoin and the broader crypto market remain subject to the whims of macro variables,” Fundstrat Digital…

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